{"id":2250,"date":"2009-12-23T15:55:00","date_gmt":"2009-12-23T15:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.image-reg.com\/numberplates\/?p=16"},"modified":"2025-01-28T19:48:40","modified_gmt":"2025-01-28T19:48:40","slug":"emirates-auction-number-plate-1-world-record","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.regplates.com\/blog\/2009\/12\/23\/emirates-auction-number-plate-1-world-record\/","title":{"rendered":"Emirates auction number plate “1” – world record!"},"content":{"rendered":"

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (CNN)<\/strong> — You expect a motorist to shell out a little extra cash for a vanity license plate.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
<\/span><\/p>\n
\n
\n

Number 5 fetched $6.75 million, now the UAE is likely to set another record.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

But nowhere is the craze for a unique plate more intense than in the United Arab Emirates, the oil-rich Persian Gulf nation that holds the world record for the six most expensive plates.<\/p>\n

Here, it’s all about how low you can go — with people battling it out at auctions to win the chance to show off license plates with the lowest digit.<\/p>\n

The numbers “5” and “7” have already been snapped up, sold for 25 million dirhams ($6.75 million) and 11 million dirhams ($2.97 million) respectively.<\/p>\n

Next week, the country will put up for auction the mother of all vanity plates: the number “1.” It is expected to immediately set a new record for the most expensive plate in the world.<\/p>\n

“As low as the number goes, as high the price goes also,” said Abdullah Al Mannaei, who runs the license plate auctions in the capital city, Abu Dhabi.<\/span><\/p>\n

“If it’s a two-digit number, if it’s similar like ’99’ or ’22,’ that goes (for) a higher amount.”<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

It’s no surprise that license plate craze has such a grip on the United Arab Emirates. The tiny nation, slightly smaller than the U.S. state of Maine, is prone to thinking big.<\/p>\n

It is already home to the world’s largest mall, the world’s largest tower, and — despite being in the Middle East — boasts the largest indoor snow park in the world.<\/p>\n

Talal Khouri, a stock broker in Abu Dhabi , is the proud owner of “5” and “7.” He sheepishly admits that yes, it’s a status thing.<\/p>\n

The license plate “5” hangs from his shiny red Rolls Royce. An expensive car, but still, 10 times less so than the plate itself.<\/p>\n

It’s not all ego though. The money that the government raises auctioning off plates goes to a fund that helps victims of car accidents.<\/p>\n

Abu Dhabi has held five such auctions, selling 300 plates and raising an astonishing $56 million.<\/p>\n

For the business savvy, there’s an added attraction: it’s a good investment.<\/p>\n

“I have a number plate on my car, which was worth 35,000 (dirhams) four years ago,” Al Mannaei said. “And I have an offer now for 400,000.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Khouri has his eyes set on snagging the number “1,” but he is being practical about how much he is willing to spend.<\/p>\n

“Um, I (will) not pay more than, maximum 15 (to) 20,” he said.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (CNN) — You expect a motorist to shell out a little extra cash for a vanity license plate. Number 5 fetched $6.75 million, now the UAE is likely to set another record. But nowhere is<\/p>\n

read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2616,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2250","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-car-reg-plate-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.regplates.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2250","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.regplates.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.regplates.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.regplates.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.regplates.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2250"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.regplates.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2250\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3509,"href":"https:\/\/www.regplates.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2250\/revisions\/3509"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.regplates.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2616"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.regplates.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2250"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.regplates.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2250"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.regplates.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2250"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}